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Hops Haven

Proletariat102 St. Marks Pl., nr. First Ave.; 212-777-6707
Even the most experienced beer drinkers will discover a new favorite porter, ale, or IPA each time they settle in at this
train-car-narrow brew Eden
from Ravi DeRossi (Death & Co., Cienfuegos). The bar, which pays homage to its former incarnation as a tattoo shop
with framed flash art running
the length of one wall, offers an increasingly rare sense of discovery in a city glutted with beer gardens and cicerones.
Just go in with a general sense
of what you like—say, chocolaty black lager or smooth, bitter
ale—and the chatty bartender
on duty will steer you toward
a righteous draft or bottle
(the latter 30 percent off
during happy hour, 4 to 8 p.m. daily). Recent standouts from
the ever-rotating chalkboard menu include a thick-bodied doppelbock from Brooklyn Brewery ($8) and a tongue-twistingly sour oak-aged rye
from California ($11). “Trust
your bartender” says the
sign by the door, and it couldn’t be better advice.